[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 230 (Wednesday, November 27, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60281-60283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30467]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5656-3]


Proposed CERCLA Administrative Cost Recovery Settlement Pursuant 
to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act; Manistique River/Harbor Site, Manistique, MI

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice; Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 122(i) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended 
(``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9622(i), notice is hereby given of a proposed 
administrative cost recovery settlement concerning the Manistique 
River/Harbor Site in Schoolcraft County, Manistique, Michigan. The 
settling parties are listed in the Supplementary Information portion of 
this Notice. The settlement is designed to resolve the settling 
parties' liability for polychlorinated biphenyl (``PCB'')-contaminated 
sediments located within the Site. The settlement requires the settling 
parties to pay $6,419,037 to the Hazardous Substances Superfund. The 
settlement includes an EPA covenant not to sue the settling parties 
pursuant

[[Page 60282]]

to Sections 106 and 107 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9606 and 9607; Section 
7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. 6973; 
Sections 7, 16 and 17 of the Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C. 
2606, 2615 and 2616; Sections 309, 311 and 504 of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319, 1321, and 1364; and Sections 406 
and 413 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, 33 U.S.C. 406 and 413. The U.S. 
EPA's authority to enter into this administrative settlement agreement 
is conditioned upon the approval of the Attorney General of the United 
States (or her delegatee). The settlement agreement has been submitted 
to the United States Department of Justice for such approval.
    For thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this 
notice, the Agency will receive written comments relating to the 
settlement. The Agency will consider all comments received and may 
modify or withdraw its consent to the settlement if comments received 
disclose facts or considerations which indicate that the settlement is 
inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. The Agency's response to any 
comments received will be available for public inspection at U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Blvd., Record Center 
7th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Commenters may request an 
opportunity for a public meeting in the affected area in accordance 
with Section 7003(d) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 6973(d).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 30, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The proposed Administrative Order on Consent (``AOC'') 
embodying the settlement agreement and additional background 
information relating to the settlement are available for public 
inspection at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 
Superfund Division Record Center, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 7th Floor, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604. A copy of the proposed AOC may be obtained 
from Deborah Garber (address see below). Comments should reference the 
Manistique River/Harbor Site, Manistique, Michigan.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Garber, Office of Regional 
Counsel, Mail Code CS-29A, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    The Manistique River is located in Schoolcraft County in Michigan's 
Upper Peninsula. The river flows from the northeast and discharges into 
Lake Michigan at the City of Manistique. The Manistique Harbor is 
carved out of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the river by a breakwater 
system which is maintained by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The river 
and harbor have been and continue to be used for recreational purposes, 
including sport fishing, boating and swimming. The Site consists of the 
bottom sediments within the Harbor and within a 1.7 mile stretch of the 
Manistique River immediately upstream from its discharge point into 
Lake Michigan. PCB contamination of the sediments within the Site was 
discovered in the 1970's. Historically, lumbering/sawmill, paper 
milling and other industrial operations were located on the banks of 
the river and discharged wastes into the river. Most of these 
operations ceased many years ago and the entities conducting them no 
longer exist. Currently, the only active manufacturing operation along 
the river banks adjoining the site is Manistique Papers, Inc (``MPI''). 
The Edison Sault Electric Company (``Edison Sault'') maintains a 
substation on the west bank of the river, south of MPI. A scrap yard 
has operated on the east bank of the river since the 1960's.
    Beginning in 1993, U.S. EPA has taken and will in the future take, 
removal actions pursuant to CERCLA to address the threat to human 
health and the environment posed by the PCB-contaminated sediments 
within the Site.
    The Site is being addressed under CERCLA removal authorities 
pursuant to the Agency's Superfund Accelerated Cleanup Model (``SACM'') 
Program. In 1994, two of the settling parties--MPI and Edison Sault 
conducted an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (``EE/CA'') pursuant 
to an Administrative Order on Consent, to investigate the extent of 
contamination within the Site and to evaluate response action 
alternatives for the contaminated sediments. During the summers of 1995 
and 1996, U.S. EPA conducted a removal action to dredge and dispose of 
PCB-contaminated sediments from a hotspot within the river portion of 
the site, referred to as Area B in the proposed AOC.
    Beginning in the summer of 1997, U.S. EPA will dredge and dispose 
of contaminated sediments in a second area located in the River (in 
1993 EPA placed a temporary cap over this area) and a third 15-acre 
area within the Harbor (referred to as Areas C and D respectively, in 
the proposed AOC).

B. Settling Parties

    The parties to this proposed settlement agreement are: Manistique 
Papers, Inc. (``MPI'') (owner and operator of the paper mill since 
1991); The Old Mountain Company, Inc. (the corporate successor to the 
long-time previous owner/operator of the paper mill); Edison Sault 
Electric Company (``Edison Sault''); The United States Coast Guard; 
Kruger, Inc. and Hicliff Corporation, parent corporations to MPI; 
ESELCO, parent corporation to Edison Sault; and the City of Manistique.

C. Description of Settlement

    The proposed settlement is a ``cashout'': MPI, Edison Sault and The 
Old Mountain Company, Inc. have agreed, jointly and severally, to pay 
to the Hazardous Substances Superfund $6,401,000. The U.S. Coast Guard 
will pay $18,037 to the Superfund. These monies will be placed in a 
special interest-bearing account to be applied toward reimbursement of 
U.S. EPA's costs of implementing the response actions at the Site. The 
other entities and the City of Manistique would be allowed to be 
signatories to the consent order without payment of additional monies; 
they would, however, give covenants not to sue to the United States and 
its agencies relating to the response actions taken at the site. In 
addition to this cash settlement, MPI has entered into an agreement 
with U.S. EPA (``Access and Services Agreement'') to allow use of 
portions of its real property for construction of treatment and storage 
facilities which are needed for the response actions as well as other 
in-kind services, which U.S. EPA values at approximately $1 million. 
The Access and Services Agreement, embodied in a separate 
Administrative Order on Consent, will become effective on the effective 
date of this Agreement. A copy of the Access and Services Agreement is 
included in the background information relating to this settlement. The 
total estimated cost of the response actions taken and to be taken at 
the Manistique River/Harbor Site is $17.1 million. The settling parties 
would contribute $6,418,000 in cash and $1 million in in-kind services 
under this settlement. In addition they have spent $1.5 million to 
complete the EE/CA, for a total of $8.9 million. Thus, the settling 
parties would pay approximately 50 percent of the total estimated costs 
of the response actions for the Site. The U.S. EPA has the option to 
pursue other non-settling potentially responsible parties for 
additional reimbursement of site response costs.


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    Dated: November 20, 1996.
Richard C. Karl,
Acting Director, Superfund Division.
[FR Doc. 96-30467 Filed 11-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P